Calling out Peduto’s ‘quack-a-doodle-ism’
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s ever more bizarre “my green way or the highway” mentality has drawn rebukes from prominent government and civic leaders. Now, a prominent corporate leader has joined them.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Stefani Pashman, head of the Allegheny Conference of Community Development, were quick to distance themselves from Peduto’s call for a moratorium on any additional petrochemical facilities in Greater Pittsburgh.
Myriad labor leaders, of course, also have joined the chorus.
Peduto likes to think his newfound shooting-from-the-hip style is necessarily stirring a pot that few want to see disturbed. But, in reality, the more he shoots his mouth off with nonsensical public policy prescriptions, the more he keeps shooting himself in the foot.
Now, the head of PNC Bank is taking the mayor to task for his criticism that local businesses have not adopted the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
In a Friday op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Bill Demchak says Peduto ignores the facts and history, is “tone-deaf” to reality and “denigrates” companies responsible for investing in economic growth strategies.
Hear! Hear!
Indeed, the Demchak commentary is heavy – very heavy – on green-weenie-ism, the “progressive” public policy correctness of the day. And, lest we forget, PNC’s “commitment” to Pittsburgh has been heavily financed by taxpayers.
Nonetheless, Demchak’s comments further scotch the notion that Peduto is some kind of “visionary.” But they do help to affirm the growing belief that he’s become nothing more than a self-celebrated quack-a-doodle.
And quack-a-doodle-ism certainly is anathema to sound public policy.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).